240D totaled! story+pics

[snipsa]

Hello everyone,
I have been a reader for years now and have used this forums knowledge to save countless $$ and keep my 123's on the road. I wanted to thank everyone for the help and also to show some pics of the recent wreck of my first diesel. I know I for one am always curious as to how these cars would hold up in an accident.

The story:

My brother was driving alone on Kingshighway in St. Louis late night. As he was going through an intersection, a full size GMC van tried to make a left in front of him and smashed right into him. Apparently, he was standing next to the car dazed when the crews arrived to take him to the hospital. He actually told the emt he was o.k. not realizing he had broken several ribs, had a partially collapsed lung, messed up his hand, broken his nose and cut his chin. He was realeased after a night in the hospital. Thankfully, he is much better now despite some aches and pains. It took over a week before we were able to get the police report to find out what happened! The other driver was found to be at fault thanks to a wittness driving behind my brother. And it turns out he did have at least some kind of insurance. It looks like it will be a while before we get it all sorted out.

Note: My brothers speed was estimated to be around 35 mph and the other vehicles unknown. He apparently was wearing his seatbelt but the cracked windshield suggests that maybe hit it? We aren't sure what happened there. I really think the car did a great job protecting him. The center console was bulged out and the dash was distorted but the interior pretty much kept its dimension. The doors were able to open but will not close again. And we belive the other driver was taken to the emergency room and released as well.


Here are some pictures several days later:
The car was a 1977 240D with a 300D engine.
(sorry if they are small, I was having trouble posting with the originals)